Transparency Measures for MPs

Background

The Green Party has always stood for more transparency around lobbying and access to politicians.

Now we’re in government, we think it’s important to take the lead on this issue, and to try to counter some of the influence of money in politics.

There’s no reason why big wealthy corporates should have better or more access to politicians than those organisations who can’t afford to shout free tickets to the rugby or a corporate box at the tennis.

The organisations doing the shouting aren’t usually representative of the community at large, and tend to benefit from maintaining the status quo, rather than pushing for the progressive change the Green Party stands for.

Ministerial and Undersecretary Diaries

All Green Party Ministers and our Under-Secretary will proactively release their ministerial diaries every quarter.

The first release will be available from mid-July 2018, covering the April-June 2018 quarter.

The disclosure will cover all meetings in their Ministerial capacity and include:

The name of the Minister/Under-Secretary

Date of meeting

Name of organisation or individual

Purpose of meeting

It will not include:

Internal meetings with ministerial staff or government officials

Personal, electorate or party political meetings

Meetings with other parliamentarians

Attendance at public social functions or events.

Hospitality Guidelines

Green Party MPs and Ministers will not accept hospitality.

How it will work:

Green MPs/Ministers can accept invitations to events (such as sports games, theatre shows, etc.) but will pay full price for tickets

Green MPs/Ministers can attend dinners, lunches or coffees, but will pay for their own meals

We acknowledge there will always be grey areas. The reality of an MP/Minister’s role is that there will be a certain amount of hospitality as a part of the work, such as events put on by foreign embassies, annual gatherings that all MPs are invited to, etc. But the general rule will be - if you want access, then come and have a meeting and we’ll put on tea and coffee.

Note on gifts: There are existing clear guidelines around gifts set out in the Cabinet Manual and Pecuniary Interests, as well as existing Green Party practice. We’re not proposing anything in addition to that.